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Linda Robertson Interview and Bibliography

Persephone Alcmedi Series

• Vicious Circle - reviewed by LoveVampires
• Hallowed Circle
• Fatal Circle (July 2010)
• Arcane Circle (Jan 2011)

LoveVampires Interview With Linda Robertson

Interview by Missy

Tell me a little bit about Linda Robertson. 

How about we do this in "fun fact" form: 
1.) I'm the mother of four boys and therefore know very little about girls so my nieces get boyish toys (like X-Wing fighters) during the holidays.
2.) I have in my head more unnecessary trivia about the original Star Wars trilogy and Star Trek than will ever be good for me.
3.) I like drinking peppermint-chocolate java and listening to Hans Zimmer movie scores while I write.
4.) My best score on Spider Solitare/4 suits is 176 moves. (I don't count the points, I try to win in the fewest moves.)
5.) I think James Bond movies are awesome and have the Bond Theme as my ringtone.

Where did you grow up? Where are you located now?

I grew up in Mansfield, Ohio. Now I live about an hour north in Medina, Ohio.

Writer, mother, artist, musician--Is there anything you don't do? 

Believe me, that list is long! In brief, though, I can't knit or crochet, I'm not sporty, and I really can't dance. :-) 

When do you sleep?

Whenever I can! I'm quite productive while the kids are at school, but I honestly don't get to play music as much as I'd like. I have a new program though that will let my keyboard talk to my computer so someday--long from now--I may have my own CD. 

Tell me a little bit about the Persephone Alcmedi's series. 

Persephone Alcmedi is a modern day witch, from a long, long line of Greek witches. She's judicious, a bit sassy, and she's not afraid to take responsibility when she's wrong. When an encounter with a vampire sends her sprawling down the path of her destiny, there's no going back.

One Word: Johnny.  Yum.  Where did the idea of him come from?

He popped onto the page while I was writing out some story ideas as I waited for my flight home from New Orleans, I think it was 2002. I can't really blame the shrimp po'boy I ate while waiting. I think it was just that kind of a trip in the Big Easy combined with some kickin’ rock-n-roll.

Will we ever learn his past?

Mwahahaha! Yes. I'm currently writing book four, ARCANE CIRCLE (which should be available in January 2011) and I'll get into his past a bit more there. I haven't been contracted for a fifth yet, but I know what plot I want to pursue in it and there's much more of his past involved there.

You introduce the idea of kennelling on the full moon, which I have never seen before.  Why? Why do your werewolves need to hide or cage that version of themselves?

Because the werewolves don't have any sense of their human minds in wolf-form and they've adopted the 'self-containment' strategies to keep the authorities from having an excuse to hunt them all down for extermination. A rogue here or there could cause trouble, but not for the masses. However, there's a development in that area in HALLOWED CIRCLE, so I won't spoil anything.

You draw on a lot of mythology, especially tarot and Greek mythology.  Why?

I've always been drawn to Greek, Roman and Egyptian mythology. When I decided to get a Tarot deck, I waffled about which one until I saw the deck based on Greek Myths. That sealed it. 

How much is based in tradition, and how much is made up? 

If you're asking about the Pagan aspect of Persephone's story, Paganism is a very eclectic spiritual path, so there is a lot of room for personalization. The standard ritual structure is there in her magic, but of course the "light show" aspects are fictional and for emphasis. If you're asking about the myths of Persephone...well I want to give appropriate 'nods' to those myths, but not be bound by them. 

You speak convincingly on all topics, so it seems real to me.

I thank you for that, but let me say I am no scholar on myths. I've been to cons and listened to panels on mythology and been astounded by how knowledgeable some people are on the subject. Personally, I "dig it" so I've researched it, but I haven't taken classes or studied it to the level of some folks. If it seems real to you, then I'm doing my job--and I have a great editor.

What's next for Persephone? 

There are always consequences, so the actions of each book bleed into the next storyline. In HALLOWED CIRCLE, with the High Priestess Vivian having disappeared and the Witches Ball coming up for Hallowe'en, the coven must have a leader and Persephone finds herself cajoled into that competition. 

Persephone and Johnny?

I don't want to give anything away, so lets say their relationship takes some twists and turns. ;-)

It might have been just me, but I picked up on some sexual tension between Persephone and Menessos.  How much of that is real and how much is just the vampire powers?

I hope it was not just you! Menessos shows up in HALLOWED CIRCLE, and that very question comes up! A big part of FATAL CIRCLE involves Menessos and building on that sexual tension. 

Anything you wanna tell us about the next book?

Read it! (Laughs.) I've kind of hyped it throughout my answers already, so I won't repeat myself here. However, here's a neat tidbit: the guitar on the cover was made by my own wolfy-boyfriend who's the owner/president/luthier of Strictly 7 Guitars. (www.strictly7.com)

What are your future plans?

I've been writing and hoping to be published for over twenty years, so I'm hoping the future is such that I get to keep this going. 

How many Persephone books? 

I initially figured nine, but there is SOOO much I want to do with these characters I could tell several more stories than that. 

Any plans for other series?

I have a lot of stuff in the drawer and with what I've learned in doing these, I could probably whip them into shape. I'm about half-way through another separate story, but I only get to work on it in between the Persephone books.

What are you reading now?

A Man Without Magic by Lawrence Watt-Evans.

What authors have influenced you?

In my late teens, I adored Jennifer Roberson's Sword Dancer series, Steven Brust's Jhereg series, and the early Dragonlance books by Weis and Hickman. Since then, I've (of course) read most of the big names in this genre, like Rice, early Hamilton, Harrison, Butcher. When I decided to start writing, so long ago, I was not finding enough of that realistic heroine who could be real and tough without being the "damsel in distress." The Sword Dancer series gave me Del, but in those days the guys deciding what would be published and presented in the Fantasy section of the bookstore scoffed at the idea of a story from the heroine's point of view, so Jennifer Roberson snuck Del's story in by telling it through the male protagonist Tiger. They were great stories! That said, when I wrote, I wrote to please me, so I was writing what I wanted to read and that meant point-of-view heroines. Decades later, this kind of story has an audience out there and I'm so glad that people are reading and embracing this genre.

Vampire, Were, Witch, Faery--which one would you be and why?

That is really tough; I'm quite happy being me. They all have their pros and cons, but I suppose if I had to choose one of those four...I'd say Vampire. I'm not at all interested in being a faery; witches' generally spend their time brewing up potions to use and their spells cast under certain conditions, and werewolves only get to show their true power once a month. I guess I like the consistency of the vamps, they are who they are all the time--except during the daylight hours. Eh, I never could tan anyway.

A big "thank-you" to Linda Robertson for taking part in the author interview. More information and excerpts from the Persephone Alcmedi books can be found at Linda’s website
15th February 2010